This is better than the first book. I still love the world. I thought the romance was better handled and there's more than just the Vin/El. Kelsior is gone and logbook entries are better integrated into the story. Sazed is firmly my favorite character. I hope we get to visit his home. The new characters are great too. Dogs are always a plus. 

There are a few twists I figured out but was still were satisfying and others that completely surprised me.

The brother twist and Zane betraying everyone I figured out. I like the triangle romance but wish it was bigger. I like the idea of Mistborn trying to fit in but falling. I wish El learned about Zane and his other half-siblings before they all died. Because El barely reacted to their existence.
 

This book still suffers from being too PG there are no kisses or even fade to black.

Image if Zane tried to kiss Vin! Or Vin/El's wedding night.

El is pretty boring. He does grow and it's better than the first book but he's still lacking depth.
I'm a little concerned with the direction of the government. The message comes off as democracy will fail. I hope they try to set up another democracy instead of staying as an empire.

I Really Liked It 😊
-★★★★✮- (4.50/5.00)
My Grading Letter Score = 90% (A)

When I finished The Well of Ascension, the first words that came out of my mouth were "simply incredible." But at first the pacing of this book at the start, I completely understand why some people would consider this weaker than The Final Empire if we are discussing overall pacing because The Well of Ascension was constantly going from slow to fast to slower to faster. For me, I'm not really someone who heavily focuses on pacing if what is being provided to me is engaging and if it's building up to something that is paid off when it's due, which this book mostly everyone agrees it does just that. So, regarding pacing consistency, sure, you can go ahead and give The Final Empire the upper hand when it comes to that. But honestly, outside of that, I most definitely feel like The Well of Ascension is tied with The Final Empire in almost every other criteria, and/or The Well of Ascension did it better.

The two categories I feel The Well of Ascension did better were characterization and character development. Every single character that was focused on in The Well of Ascension, for the most part, felt like they were given the time they needed to be fleshed out enough to be commended at least above what the characterization execution was provided to us in The Final Empire and goes for the development they went through in this book. World-building, Lore, Action, and Prose are all categories that can be debated which one did it better. I don't really care since I enjoyed all of these things in both of these books. 


Verdict
At first, I was Team Final Empire, until around Chapter 47 when my favorite fight scene in the series so far occurred did I start to lean over to Team Well of Ascension, after that the pacing slowed back down and then I started to lean back over to The Final Empire and then the last fifty pages of this book leveled me out. It brought me to the conclusion of thinking that I like both of these books equally critically, to be honest. If I was held at gunpoint and forced to choose one over the other, I might say The Well of Ascension, since the hype of just finishing it is still on me and I love great characterization which this book gave me a whole lot of. But I love both of these books equally and I'm glad I did not come out of it thinking less of it in comparison to its predecessor, a successor should be as good or better than what came before it and I feel The Well of Ascension accomplished just that. So regardless of what the majority of people state or what the rating score in comparison says about this book. 

I Really Liked It.

The middle of the book drags and I was planning on taking a break from the series after this book but after the ending I was permanently hooked on the cosmere

I saw another reviewer describe the bulk of this novel sitting on a solid four stars--but the denouement is totally five stars. I can confirm this indeed has been my experience with a lot of Sanderson's works. I'm very impressed with how the story threads have come together not just in this novel, but also build on (and sometimes subvert) what was set up in the first novel of the series. I can see why the Cosmere has a lot of keen fans.

I loved this second part of the Mistborn series even more than the first book! It expanded the world and brought so many new mysteries and shocks along. I can’t wait to start part three! 

Even better than the first! Now they all the worldbuilding is out of the way, we get straight to the action! Great new characters, great character development, even more evil villains, exciting action! Focused a bit too much at points on how sad the characters feel about the death of a certain character in the previous book. I get it! You miss them!

2nd read: 26.08.2024 - 5 stars

Reread with book club. It is one of those books I wish I could read again for the first time.
During the reread, I saw a lot of hints and foreshadowing that I missed the first time around. But there were also part that were not as interesting as before. Although, I apparently had forgotten half of the plot.
What makes this book so exceptional is the ending. It is one of the most brilliant twists I have ever read in a book. It is perfection. Even though I knew what was coming and saw the hints along the way, I still had goosebumps for the reveal. The timing, the placement, the execution—it's just perfect. And after reading all the other Cosmere books in the meantime, there was even an extra layer to that final chapter. And I am still amazed at how an author can manage to plan and pull off such a feat.


1st read: 11.11.2022 - 5 stars 

I LOVED IT SO SO MUCH IT'S EVEN BETTER THAN THE FIRST BOOK! 

I want to scream because I have so many thoughts and feelings and I can't explain them because of spoilers.

I'm just impressed. This is probably the most perfect second book I've ever read? It is the logical continuation of book one. And yes, it prepares the characters for and leads the plot to the third book. But it has a very interesting and well crafted plot on its own, with a satisfying finale. 

After finishing The Final Empire, you just don't know what to expect. But the themes explored in this book make you realize how much there still is to consider. Yeah, defeating a villain is hard, but maybe taking over and making life better is even harder? Love the detailed look at the aftermath of a revolution, the changes the characters went through but still have to go through more, the obstacles no one had considered. The character development is phenomenal. Is it fun/easy to read about the struggles and mistakes of the characters? No. But it's so believable and realistic. Wow. 

It is also maybe one of my favorite takes on the chosen one trope. And I love love loooove how much books, reading and research are part of the plot. It's my third book by Sanderson and all three have this in common. Characters that love reading and are passionate about doing research. And you as a reader can do it alongside them and even get rewarded for it. It's one of my favorite things in the world. 

I'm SO excited for book 3 now.